Tabris said:
i know for a fact that u have to do 1st and 2nd year statistics as well as core subjects such as accg and econ units
Spot on... Handbook explains that all pretty well -- Listen to Tabris: that's the first stop
.
Regarding the maths, so far, the statistics side of things is the only real pure mathsy stuff. There seesm to be a lot of units in which it'd
help if you were good at maths: One of the psych units (Psy237 -- cognition & percpetion) is logical, so if you're good at maths, that'll help a lot. Same for Accounting units (of which I've done a grand total of one so far), and economics (but I think having a bit of HSC economic background helps here more than any maths background does, but maths would help nonetheless). ACST (finance) units are different, though -- 80% mathematical. Get ready to turn into a human calculator.
Bridging units? I believe they're recommendations: I dropped to general maths halfway through year 12 so I could focus on my other units, and never looked back. As I implied above, there's little "pure maths" in the degree, but having a mathematical/logical background would help with many units. There ARE a few which are mathematically intensive, so keep that in mind when choosing your units (ie do them when you're doing all 100-level units in first year, so your workload is minimal -- 200 level units seem to get more demanding than 100's, and 1st year therefore seemed easier than 2nd to me). ACST101 (the mathsy finance unit) is
really well organised and set out, with tonnes of resources, so if you find you can't do it, it's because you're not putting the effort into it.
As with any course at uni, you've just gotta be self-motivated and interested.
Job Prospects
Job-prospect-wise, ...well, you end up choosing two 'modules'. Somehow, these equate roughly to a major, but they're not called a major for whatever reason. Anyway, you choose two modules of the same topic (Actually, if you did a straight BBA, you choose 4, but 2 have been chosen for you: you're doing Org Psych as a module, and whatever you choose). It seems that these modules are what direct you to your job prospects. Take your pick of field. Economics, marketing, finance, accounting, HR, international business (via languages, I'd assume)... the list goes on.
My opinions
a) Psych
With those caveats listed, BBA+BA-Psych is an AWESOME course. I absolutley love it. I chose it because the business is a generic enough degree to do things with, and the psych was originally simply a personal interest. However, as you go through you realise just how fantastic the psych is, because it applies,
literally, everywhere. Anyone, for any degree, should do a psych degree if they can, in my opinion. So, if you're thinking about business, get yourself in on this degree.
b) Business
The business side is a bit.. well.. so far, I must admit I've been doing mainly psych courses, so I mightn't have an accurate impression of the business side of things. However, it seems that the business units so far are a bit wafty. Kinda like HSC Business Studies, which will help you through first year beautifully. It does, however, seem that the business units I've got ahead of me (ie 200+) are going to be a bit more specialised and a little harder. I got hold of notes for some 300 level units, and they don't look particularly nice. Lots of calculus and maths forumlae (2-unit maths stuff). Also, talking to other business students, it seems business courses are pretty undirected and 'wafty', as said, in the first year, but really get harder in the second + third.
c) Job Prospects
Job prospects are kinda limited, in practice. See, doing a BBA, you've got a rather generic business degree. Eventually you choose these modules, but there's always someone more specialised in it than you. If you choose accounting, and go get a job, why would someone employ you over someone with an accounting degree? Same for business law, or marketing, or economics, or any of it. This degree sets you up as a manager, rather than a worker, which could get restrictive in the early years because you've not had managerial experience yet (so, for example, I'm working to get as much experience up at anything I can to add value in the coming years). Sure, you've got a psych degree, and perhaps a better understanding of the rest of he business (ie the other departments which you've got a feel for as you've done a generic degree ratehr than a specialised one), but they're not necessarily looking for that.
So, I'm looking at how to maximise what the degree DOES have. It does give you a psych degree, too, and if you do accounting, I hate to say it but the majority of your psych will be wasted, when compared to how much it could be used in other professions. So, which modules would I choose if I were trying to maximise the psych? HR, Marketing, possibly economics if you were daring or really interested. (For the record, I'm choosing HR, because it can lead eventually to getting postgrad qualifications and careers in organisational psych, which is literally the combination of psych and HR, while there's no similar official combination for Marketing or Econ, it seems)
So. You've identified this degree as one that interests you. Gotta remember you're getting two degrees out of your 4 years (but, also, you have no electives -- your entire (or, 99% of it) 4 years are dictated by what's in the handbook), and that if you failed at one, you could always do the other (ie if you hated business, you're already halfway through a psych degree, or, if you hated the business work environment, could always go onto becoming a psychologist). I would tend to think that the BBA's nice because you get a bit of every business course on offer at MQ, so if you don't like BBA, you probably won't like the other biz courses, and vice versa.
I don't know whether I've made you more scared or more enthusiastic, but I'd seriously recommend it -- of course, only you can decide whether it's for you, but it's a beautiful mix of life skills (ie the psych), without being too specialised or generalistic (ie making you do a bit of everything), and allowing for you to choose a direction for your career to start off in (ie your modules).
Another thing this degree teaches you is how to write huge essays -- a skill which obviously generalises into being able to write huge posts, too!
Any questions?
